How to Grow a Beard: Bare to Bear (in 5 Steps)

This entry was posted on February 26, 2018 by The English Shaving Company.

Your shaving routine takes a lot of time, but putting that razor away and choosing to grow a beard comes with a different set of requirements - especially if you want a beard to rival the best! The English Shaving Company have all the tips on how to grow a beard including tackling patchiness and itchiness, and encouraging the hair to grow in the right direction!

To Grow a Beard, Maintenance is Essential

We won’t lie; when you’re wanting to grow a beard, there’s a lot of waiting involved. It can be tempting to simply sit back, relax, and let nature take its course - especially for those who decided to stop shaving in order to save time in the mornings. This is a novice mistake. If you want your beard to grow well, you have to perform some basic maintenance. A few minutes a day on your beard will make all the difference as you’ll be able to encourage more growth and create a thicker look.

Here are five vital tips to grow a healthy, stylish, and thick beard.

1. Keep Your Beard and Face Clean

Perhaps it goes without saying, but it’s surprising how tempting it can be to skip washing your face when you have a thick layer of hair hiding the skin beneath. However, keeping your facial hair and face clean is essential if you want to continue growing a healthy and attractive beard. A buildup of grime, dead skin cells, and sweat against your skin is not only very itchy, but also minimises the growth of your hair.

Most people are aware that it’s important to avoid standard soap on your face -- as your facial skin is more sensitive and will dry out more easily -- and so will use face wash. In the same way, normal shampoo isn’t designed to be used on facial hair. Just as your facial skin is different from the skin on your arms, your facial hair is different from the hair on your head. It’s called androgenic hair, which means its growth is caused by hormones. This kind of hair is thicker and more wiry, so it needs to be cared for in a different way.

Beard shampoo is specifically created to care for this type of hair, cleaning it while maintaining the natural properties and oils. Beard shampoo is also designed to be kind to the skin underneath your facial hair too.

2. Comb the Hairs

Combing your beard might sound like a waste of time, but it’s extremely useful to encourage the positive growth of your facial hair. Combing takes just thirty seconds, but it pulls the hairs in an even and regular direction. If you comb every day, the hair regulates its growth into a more even pattern. This helps your beard look good, soft, and even. It also removes any loose hairs, which encourages further growth in the future.

3. Moisturise and Condition

Keeping the hair soft will go a long way when growing a beard. In the early stages, it helps to prevent itchiness as the hair grows as softer hair irritates the skin a lot less. (If you are struggling with beard itch, we put together a guide on how to tackle it.) Once your beard starts to fill out, conditioning the hair with beard oil, cream, or balm helps maintain this softness. It not only produces a better look, but will prevent tangling - if your hair is smooth and even, it grows much more easily.

4. Trim and Keep it Even

A lot of men struggle to grow an even beard and get frustrated at the patches that appear. This is because individual hairs will grow at different rates. If there’s an area of slow growing hairs next to an area of fast growing hairs, the result is a patchy beard. Many men abandon ship at this stage, but one way to manage it is to trim the longer hairs to match the areas that grow more slowly. This will help to create an even look as your grow your beard. It might mean it takes longer, but it ensures your beard grows well and looks stylish. Beard scissors are designed to give you maximum control over the trimming -- you don’t want to create more patches! They are specifically designed to cut the thick and wiry hair without causing damage to the ends.

As your beard develops, don’t get over excited and throw away your razor! You’ll need it in order to create a clean look. While this doesn’t do anything to encourage the growth of your beard, it’s important for style. You will want to maintain a sharp neckline, shaving away the more sporadic and random hairs that don’t form part of your beard. You can also create a more defined edge on your cheeks should you wish. This helps your beard to look more intentional and cared for.

Trimming your beard is also important to hone the style to suit your face. The most aesthetically pleasing looks are said to be the beards that make your face look more oval. For example, if you have a rounder face, you might consider a longer beard with less thickness on the sides. Think about the style you are after and if it would work with your face shape.

5. Give it time!

While you can use the above techniques to encourage fast and even growth, ultimately it is a waiting game! Spending a few minutes every day maintaining your look is important for your beard to grow as stylishly as possible.

If your beard just isn’t growing...

Unfortunately, some men find they just can’t grow a beard. Using beard oil or beard balm can help as they look after your hair and ensure it has all the support and essential nourishment it needs to grow. However, some people are genetically predisposed to grow less facial hair. If you’ve tried the tactics above with no luck, it might be time to embrace your DNA and the clean shaven style! We even have a guide to getting the best close shave so you can focus on perfecting that art instead.

We’d love to hear your thoughts and if you have any other tips on how to grow a beard. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments!

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